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General Studies 2025 GS Paper II 15 marks 250 words Compulsory Critically examine

GS Paper II — Q13

Discuss the evolution of collegium system in India. Critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of the system of…

Discuss the evolution of collegium system in India. Critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of the system of appointment of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India and that of the USA. (Answer in 250 words) 15 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत में कॉलेजियम प्रणाली के विकास की विवेचना कीजिए। भारत और संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका के उच्चतम न्यायालय के न्यायाधीशों की नियुक्ति की प्रणाली के फायदे और नुकसान का आलोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए। (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q13 of the 2025 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper II, as printed
The question as printed in the 2025 General Studies paper
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Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

The Collegium system evolved through judicial interpretations of Article 124(2). In the First Judges Case (1982), the Supreme Court granted executive primacy in appointments. The Second Judges Case (1993) reversed this by interpreting "consultation" as "concurrence", creating the Collegium. The Third Judges Case (1998) expanded it to the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most judges. In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, reaffirming judicial primacy as integral to the basic structure.

The Indian System Its primary advantage lies in shielding the judiciary from executive overreach, preserving judicial independence, and preventing political packing of the bench. However, it suffers from opacity, an absence of fixed, objective evaluation criteria, susceptibility to nepotism, lack of accountability, and persistent delays caused by friction over the Memorandum of Procedure.

The US System Under Article II of the US Constitution, the President nominates Supreme Court judges subject to Senate confirmation following public hearings. This ensures transparency, public scrutiny, and democratic legitimacy through legislative checks. Conversely, it creates severe politicization of the judiciary, enforces ideological litmus tests, and fosters partisan standoffs, as seen in the stalling of Merrick Garland (2016) and the polarized confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett (2020).

Critical Assessment While India insulates judicial independence at the cost of transparency, the USA achieves democratic accountability at the cost of bench neutrality. The solution for India is not importing the polarized US model, but reforming the collegium into a structured, transparent mechanism with published criteria, balancing institutional autonomy with public accountability.

What "Critically examine" is asking you to do

Test the proposition the question puts to you and return a finding on how far it holds. Examine stems carry a claim, or ask whether something has happened, and expect evidence weighed both ways before the extent is stated — often with remedial measures attached. “Critically” is not a section added at the end: name the yardstick you are judging by — the evidence, the stated objective, a constitutional principle, a rival explanation — and let a verdict close each part of the body. Where the question quotes a claim, that verdict must land on the claim itself, accepted, qualified or rejected, and not on the theme in general.

Structure that answers it

Restate the claim as the question frames it → evidence that supports it → evidence that undercuts it → the conditions under which it holds → verdict on how far it stands

Where marks are lost

Merits in one paragraph, demerits in the next, and a conclusion calling for a balanced and holistic approach. That is a survey with the judgement left out and it holds the answer in the middle band. The opposite error is reading “critically” as permission to attack — and with the odd pairings, critically describe or critically explain, the exposition still carries most of the marks, the judgement being a layer on it rather than a substitute for it.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS2 Paper 2: Constitutional Law & Governance. critique: the claim > its strengths > its weaknesses > your judgment Full marks: Precise evolution, sharp India-US contrast, and a grounded reform conclusion.

Key points expected

  • Evolution of collegium system in India
  • Advantages of Indian appointment system
  • Disadvantages of Indian appointment system
  • Comparison with USA appointment system

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

  1. The answer Trace collegium evolution and compare India/USA appointment systems with critical judgment.  · 250 words

    critique— the claim → its strengths → its weaknesses → your judgment

    Must cover

    • Evolution of collegium system in India
    • Advantages of Indian appointment system
    • Disadvantages of Indian appointment system
    • Comparison with USA appointment system

    Loses marks

    • Reciting Articles without analysis
    • Ignoring the US comparison
    • Ending without a reform suggestion

    Earns more

    • Cites specific landmark judgments
    • Mentions 99th Amendment context
    • Identifies specific US constitutional mechanism
    • Balanced conclusion on reform

    Extra mark

    • Cites 2nd ARC or Law Commission
    • References specific US Supreme Court case

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